Every now and then, I do a consult on an empty property where the client decides that actually, they don't need a professional stager after all. They can stage the property themselves! And save a whole lot of money!

Usually these are properties that have been on the market for ages and ages, and precisely because of that, they need the expertise of a professional home stager. Often, amateur staging actually does more harm than a house with no furniture at all, like the property below. And so the property will continue to sit and sit on the market, steadily reducing in price, ultimately costing the seller much more than than they would have paid to have it staged by someone who knows what they're doing.

How not to stage

First up is the entrance. See below. This one of the most important areas for a buyer. We know that within the first 90 seconds, the buyer has already made up their mind about whether they like the house. In the photo below, you can see that this DIY home stager put only a carpet, some wood and a few ornaments in the entrance. So the first thing a buyer will see when they walk in is an empty room with a carpet. Not very welcoming. This won't sell the property.

In the second room, there is a lone couch pushed against the wall. The photographer has done their best to make the room look "green", but there's no getting around that bare floor and the empty space in front of it. Instead of looking like an inviting living area, the room looks cold and bare.

PS The photos are screen prints, so don't push the arrows. They don't work.

Below is another view of the same room. What the buyer will perceive is either that the room is too small for more furniture, or that the room is too large because the couch is swamped by it.

The buyer may also question the purpose of the room. In a competitive market (and there are 6 or 7 other homes in the same area all in the same price range), the buyer wants to know that every penny they're spending is going to a useful room.

You get what you pay for

When it comes to selling your biggest asset, spend the money and get in a professional. Look at it as an investment rather than a grudge spend. You won't be disappointed in your return on investment.